Rotator cuff is a group of  four different muscles that literally cup your shoulder and attach on the bone that make up the joint. The attachement of these muscles to the bone is called a tendon. These muscles help us move our shoulder in different directions. However, when the tendons do get injured they can make your daily activities quite painful. So read on to know the causes and treatment for rotator cuff injuries.

woman with rotator cuff pain

What causes rotator cuff pain?

Our shoulders are the most flexible joints in the body! You can move it to the front, back, sideways and even do circular movements with your arm! Hence, you can imagine the stresses that are put on the structures around the joint. Especially the attachement of the muscles to the bone, tendons. Now of course a fall on the shoulder or a forceful tug can hurt the rotator cuff. But constant repetitive movements like drilling or lifitng can hurt it too. So you could very well hurt the tendons while lifting something heavy that you are used to lifting everyday. For example, in a gym or even at work.

causes of rotator cuff pain

How do I know if I have hurt my rotator cuff?

Pain is the biggest sign that something’s wrong with your body. It is the our body’s most natural way of telling us that something needs fixing. So pain with daily activities like lifting your arm up, putting on a bra or reaching out for things is painful then you know that you need to see a Physio. In addition to these there could be pain with sleeping on the shoulder or moving it to a specific position like above your head. Depending upon how long you have had the pain for, it can sart becoming more constant. You could be sitting there watching T.V and the pain will start. So it’s important to really seek help before it progresses to this stage as it is a sign of a more severe injury.

woman sitting at the office with shoulder and rotator cuff pain

What can I do about rotator cuff pain?

First and foremost stopping the painful activity will help to heal your injury. Heat packs and ice packs may also help to take the edge off the pain. However, research shows that most of the rotator cuff pain can heal completely with physiotherapy. Hence, it is so important to get to a physio at the first sight of pain. Because remember the longer you leave an injury untreated, the longer it will take to heal. Our physios do a complete assessment of you pain. We use hands on techniques like joint mobilizations and massage to reduce pain. This also improves joint movement. Once we have good mobility we then provide a customised exercise program to make your muscles strong. This is to ensure that you have long term results.